Language Basics for Business Bloggers – Part B

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There’s no lack of information for us content writers when it comes to hooking readers and wowing fans, but, as Tiffany Lucket, editor of the Writer’s Digest Yearbook points out, it’s important to go back and review fundamental writing tools. That’s why I’m devoting this week’s Say It For You blog posts to some of the language basics covered in that wonderful magazine.

“…the ways in which the elements of a sentence can be put together – separates the casual writer from the true professional, asserts Anne Stilman. “Unconventional or incorrect grammar may be seen as an indication of carelessness or ignorance, with the result that readers may take the content itself less seriously,” she explains.  (Thank you, Ms. Stilman! I get a lot of pushback from business owners and professionals when I tell them their website is filled with grammar errors – supposedly nobody “normal” pays attention to such language detail.”)

Stilman focuses on topics that she finds present frequent stumbling blocks for content writers, including:

Agreement between subject and verb:
When sentences contain two or more nouns or pronouns and share the same verb, the verb needs to be plural, even if one element of the pair is singular, and even if the singular noun is the one closest to the verb.

Avoiding misplaced modifiers:
If a sentence is carelessly constructed, the entity to be modified is not clear. As an example, Stilman offers the following sentence: “Just two years after finishing graduate school, Adelaide’s career took off.” Since it was Adelaide and not her career that finished school, this is a confusing sentence.  It would have been better to state that “Just two years after Adelaide finished graduate school, her career took off.”

When I’m training newbie blog content writers, I like to remind them of the doctor’s mantra “Above all, do no harm.” In blogging for business, the warning might read, “Above all, create no confusion in readers.” You want online searchers to get the message, not be left scratching their heads.

If online searchers can’t tell what you mean, they will simply click and leave! Ignoring clarity by failing to use proper punctuation and sentence structure in blog posts is done at business owners’ peril.

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Language Basics for Business Bloggers – Part A

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“Keep in mind that apostrophes are never used to form a plural word; they are used only in contractions and when creating the possessive form,” Brian Klems reminds readers of The Writer’s Digest Yearbook.

The basic concept behind this treasure chest of a magazine: Writers learn about hooking readers and wowing fans, but it’s important for them to go back and review fundamental writing tools. “Without a base, there’s nothing to build upon,” says Tiffany Lucket.  The Digest’s executive editor is addressing novelists, but blog content writers are equally in need of such a reminder.

And speaking of apostrophes, I find misuse of them nothing short of rife in business blogs, beginning with the use of “it’s” as a pronoun. (“You need to see this furniture to appreciate it’s beauty. Oh, Gawd…).

Brian Klems goes on to describe a related apostrophe question: Should you use the apostrophe to form a plural word when a name ends in the letter S? In a word, no, no. no!  We keep up with the Joneses, not with the Jones’. Of course, if you’re trying to have your cat keep up with the Jones’ pet, the apostrophe would be very apropos as a possessive.

What’s the big deal? Grammar mistakes in content writing for business are very much like the much-publicized TV star wardrobe mishaps in that they call attention away from the kind of impression we intend to make on behalf of our businesses or professional practices.  (Yes, I’ve been accused of being a “grammar Nazi”, and yes, it’s true that most readers won’t catch the grammar errors. But, can you afford to lose the respect of even a few?)

Assuming all content writers would at least reluctantly concede the answer to that question is  “no”, I’m devoting all of this week’s Say It For You blog posts to language basics covered in the Writer’s Digest Yearbook. IT”S elementary. Blog WRITERS’  AND BLOG WRITERS’ CLIENTS’ reputations need protection against grammar and vocabulary mishaps!  Repeat after me: apostrophes are never used to form plural words, and “its” would have one only if you mean “it is”.

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Unpackaging Information in Business Blogs

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I’m sure the last thing on the WIBC newscaster Mike Corbin’s mind was business blog content writing – he wasn’t even aware I was listening to him on my drive home! Still, Corbin managed to give me the kind of gift I treasure – a word tidbit.

The topic of the moment was Republican House Majority Leader Cantor’s loss in the recent primary election. To introduce the discussion, Corbin used three words: “Let’s unpackage this”, he said.

“Unpackaging” – I’d never used the word to apply to our work as content writers, but, yes. That’s actually a perfect description of the way bloggers can help online readers connect with information presented in a blog post. Facts and statistics need to be “unpackaged” or put into perspective, so that readers realize there’s something important here for them.

It’s fascinating, what a big difference skillful use of language can make in every aspect of life and particularly in business. As business owners and professional practitioners, we can get so tied up in manufacturing a good, marketable product and in serving our customers’ needs, we forget how much help the right words can be.

Of course, for content writers, it’s all about words, so that the right word tidbit can be a true gift. When it comes to “unpackaging” information for our readers, we business bloggers are nothing if not interpreters. Effective blog posts, I teach, must go from information-dispensing to offering the business owner’s (or the professional’s, or the organizational executive’s) unique perspective on issues related to the search topic.

One form of un-packaging consists of putting your own “spin” on any messages the public might be receiving about your industry – or about you – from competitors or critics. Sometimes negative perceptions arise from inaccurate press statements, but often, accurate information, incompletely explained, causes negative perceptions.  Blogs are a way for business owners to exercise a degree of control over myths and misunderstandings.

Unpackaging, though, doesn’t need to be reactive.  In blogging for business, it’s important to proactively interpret information in ways that are not only understandable, but usable by readers, “unwrapping”and drilling down to the core of the message.

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In Business Blogging, Embrace Your Own Opinion

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This week’s Say It For You business blog posting lessons are based on the secrets and shortcuts Geoffrey James shares in his book Business Without the Bullsh*t .

In a way, James’ entire book showcases a point I often stress in corporate blogging training sessions – whether you’re blogging for a business, for a professional practice, or for a nonprofit organization, you’ve gotta have an opinion, a slant, on the information you’re serving up for readers. In other words, blog posts, to be effective, can’t be just compilations; you can’t just “aggregate” other people’s stuff and make that be your entire blog presence.

(Of course, you can do that, just aggregate, I mean, and many sites do. Aggregation may even make your blog site the “go-to” destination for information.  But if you ask me, that’s not going to result in readers coming to your business or practice for service, products, and advice.) 

James’ book has a chapter I love, called “How to Cope With Management Fads”. The author gives readers career-saving tips for when their employers are in the throes of implementing that he calls “faux panaceas”.  Six Sigma? “Expect everything to take 10-20% longer than it otherwise would because of buttinsky experts clogging up the way the organization runs.”  Reengineering? “…one of half a dozen euphemisms that executives use when they’re planning to fire a bunch of people.” Matrix management?  “The result is predictable: an endless, debilitating turf war.”

The book blurb explains that Geoffrey James writes one of the world’s most visited business blogs.  The reason, I firmly believe, is that he’s opinionated, very opinionated. Sure, James’ style may seem far too harsh for you to use anything like that in your own online marketing.. You’re out to nurture the relationships you’ve established and welcome new clients and customers to your business or practice, not “turn them off”.

Still, what I’ve learned over the years of creating blog content for dozens and dozens of clients in different industries and professions is that, in order to turn clients and customers “on”, we must incorporate one important ingredient – opinion. Taking a stance, I’ve found, is what gives a blog post some “zip”.

We must be influencers, I advise clients and blog content writers alike. Whether it’s business-to-business or business to consumer blog writing, the blog content itself needs to use opinion to clarify what differentiates that business, that professional practice, or that organization from its peers.

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The Pareto Principle in Business Blogging

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Just one of the 49 secrets and shortcuts Geoffrey James shares in his book Business Without the Bullsh*t is how to use the Pareto Principle to prioritize your to-do list. (You remember Pareto’s concept – 80% of your results come from 20% of your actions.)

Couldn’t help recalling the Say It For You video I’d recorded about time management for blogs. Allowing 120 minutes total per blog post, I’d allocate 40 for research and “reading around”, learning others’ opinions on your topic and gathering information.  50 minutes should be used, I advised, for the actual writing and editing of the business blog, with 10 minutes for finding photos, charts, and clip art for illustrating your points, and 20 minutes for the actual posting on the site.

The reason most time management systems don’t work, James points out, is that the less important actions are given the same priority as the more important ones when it comes to making a schedule or to-do list.  A more productive planning system would come from following these steps:

  • Prioritize each item on your to-do list by the amount of effort required, numbering the item from #1 (least effort required) to #10 (most effort required).
  • Then make a second list, numbering the items by expected positive results of each action.
  • For each action, divide the effort number by the potential number. The result is “priority ranking”.
    Now, follow your list in order of priority ranking, doing the tasks with the highest priority rankings first.

So, how did my blog content writer’s allocation work out under the Geoffrey James system? Almost entirely on target:

Reading around:                                    #2 effort, #2 results.
Writing/editing content:                    #1 effort,,#1 results
Actual posting                                         #3 effort, #4 results
Illustrating                                                #4 effort, #3 results

Yes, it’s always nice when someone more famous than you confirms what you’ve been saying for a long time. Distilling your own experiences in your business and profession and gathering wisdom to share with your business blog readers are the two tasks that take the most effort and, over time, the ones that make for long-term blogging success.

 

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